A new survey reveals improvements in mental health among Ontario students post-pandemic, though online gambling and digital pressures raise new challenges.
The latest Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey suggests that many middle- and high-school students in the province are recovering from the sharp mental health strain seen during and just after the Covid-19 pandemic, even as serious concerns persist. According to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, the biennial survey collected responses from 11,108 students in grades 7 to 12 at 246 schools across 42 school boards between December 2024 and June 2025, making it one of the broadest looks at youth well-being in Ontario. CAMH said the findings point to improved psychological distress levels, stronger school connectedness and lower self-harm compared with 2023, while also showing that many young people are still struggling.
Nearly half of students, 46 per cent, reported moderate-to-serious psychological distress, and 23 per cent said their distress was serious. Both figures are down from 2023 and back near pre-pandemic levels, but they remain well above the levels recorded a decade ago. The share of students rating their mental health as fair or poor also fell, to 30 per cent from 38 per cent in 2023, yet that remains markedly higher than the 15 per cent reported 10 years earlier. Dr Hayley Hamilton, who leads the survey for CAMH’s Institute for Mental Health Policy Research, said the data show that the most acute pandemic-era pressures have eased, but that mental health needs remain elevated.
The survey also found continuing gaps in access to care. Roughly 29 per cent of students said they needed professional mental health support in the past year but did not seek it. CAMH said common reasons included believing they could handle the problem themselves, worrying that parents would find out and doubting that treatment would help. A youth-led CAMH initiative launched in June 2025 reflects a wider effort to involve young people more directly in shaping recovery efforts and mental health policy.
Drug use among Ontario students continued its long decline, with alcohol, tobacco and several other substances at or near historic lows. CAMH said vaping, cannabis use, non-medical use of prescription opioids and misuse of cough and cold medication all fell from 2023. Nearly half of students, 48 per cent, reported not using alcohol, tobacco or nicotine, or cannabis at all. But the survey pointed to new pressures, including nicotine pouch use, which 6 per cent of students reported in the past year, and ongoing difficulties quitting vaping. At the same time, girls were more likely than boys to report cannabis use, vaping, non-medical prescription opioid use and drinking alcohol.
The report also highlighted how deeply digital life has become woven into adolescence. Nearly all students said they use social media daily, while one-quarter spend five hours or more on it each day. More than three-quarters reported at least three hours of recreational screen time. CAMH said those patterns have risen sharply over time and may be linked to cyberbullying, body image pressures and poorer mental health outcomes. One of the most striking findings was online gambling: 12 per cent of students said they had gambled online in the past year, up from 8 per cent in 2023, while online sports betting climbed from 1 per cent in 2019 to 10 per cent in 2025. Dr Peter Selby of CAMH called that increase worrying and urged stronger limits on youth exposure to gambling marketing.
Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical judgment, advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
